When the current government announced the Perth Freight Link project in their 2014 budget, I was quite surprised. It was a project that no-one had ever heard of and for which there had been no submissions whatsoever. What we found out, though, was that it was essentially the Roe 8—a project that had been rejected—with an extension on the end. It was one, though, that did not actually go to the port. A freight link project that does not carry the freight to the port!

Yesterday, it was asked in Senate estimates, and the department said: ‘Just to clarify, Senator, I assume you mean by stage 3 an upgrade between the end of current project and into Fremantle Port.’ ‘Yes, where the freight is going.’ This is what Roland Pittar from the department said: ‘We have not seen a draft project proposal report for that.’

Here we have, up until the 11 March election when there will be the chance to make a decision on it, a project that does not go to the port, that will not achieve any outcomes, and where this government is saying $1.2 billion of funding will be withheld from WA—funding that should be used for the Outer Harbour, for METRONET, for the North Lake Bridge, for the Wanneroo Road upgrade, for Scarborough Beach Road and for the Denny Avenue grade separation project.